Who keeps your calendar? Who sets your appointments and reminds you when they are approaching? Some of us keep our own calendars. Some of us have secretaries who do that for us. Others might put events on our calendars without consulting us but ultimately it is up to us if we keep the appointment or not. Granted there might be repercussions if we do not keep the appointment, but still the choice is ours. Long ago, before the foundation of the world, God the Father made an appointment for God the Son. He was scheduled to take on flesh so that He could be the perfect and unblemished sacrifice for the redemption of mankind. It is to the Son’s praise and honor and glory that He kept that most important of all appointments.

It seems that the Father set some other less important appointments for the Son. Less important in terms of all mankind but of the exact same importance for the individual involved. John 4:3-4 states, “He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria.”NASU All the English translations that I am aware of seem to make a point of indicating that it was necessary for Jesus to go through Samaria. That emphasis may be lost on 21st century Americans but it certainly did not slip by the attention of the original readers. The hatred between Jews and Samaritans was so great that no self-respecting Jew would have passed through Samaria; he would have crossed over to the eastern side of the Jordan until reaching the point opposite his destination and then would have crossed back over the Jordan. Thus, it was not necessary for Jesus to pass through Samaria except that He had a divine appointment to keep. Before the foundation of the world, God the Father set up an appointment for God the Son to keep with a Samaritan woman at a well. That appointment might not have been important to the whole world but nothing could have been more important for that woman.

Not only did Jesus make it a point to pass through despised territory, He also chose to engage in conversation with a woman. At that time, women were very much second class citizens, and no self-respecting Jew would be seen talking to any woman in public, much less a Samaritan woman. Moreover, this Samaritan woman was an outcast among even her own people. She had to come to the well to draw water when other women would not be there because they would not have anything to do with her. Jesus knew exactly who this woman was. He knew exactly what she was like. He knew what her sins were. He knew what others thought of her. But all of that made no difference to Him. He loved her with an unprejudiced heart. He loved her with an unfailing love. Jesus knew exactly who she was and He wanted her to know exactly who He is. He revealed to the woman that He is the Messiah, the source of Living Water, able to quench her spiritual thirst forever.

God the Father made billions of these appointments for God the Son. He is in the process of keeping them all. He has already had one with you or one is coming up soon. It is an amazing thing that God the Son is willing and not ashamed to sit down with me, with you, with the Samaritan woman. No matter what you have done or not done, no matter what anyone else thinks of you, Jesus has an appointment with you to offer you this very same Living Water. If you have already had that appointment with Christ, He is putting others on your calendar for you; so that you too can show unfailing love from an unprejudiced heart.